牛津新词展现英语流动之美.docVIP

牛津新词展现英语流动之美 　　The Oxford English Dictionary―the “OED” to its friends―has announced a 2016 update， consisting of over 1，000 new words and word meanings， along with the revision or expansion of over 2，000 entries1）. 　　The revisions are not just new words or phrases， like “glamping，” “air-punching，” “sweary” and “budgie smugglers.” The OED has also revised its entry of “bittem，” an obsolete2） word over 1000 years old， meaning “the keel or lower part of a ship’s hull.” 　　 　　Where did the new words come from？ Some are borrowed from other languages， such as “narcocorrido” （a Spanish word for a traditional Mexican ballad recounting the exploits of drug traffickers）， “potjie” （from Afrikaans， a three-legged cast iron cooking pot for use over a fire）， and “shishito” （from Japanese， a particular kind of chili used in Asian cooking）. 　　Some additions are deeply revealing of our modern preoccupations―such as the terms “assisted death.” This category also includes the word “agender” （without gender）， born of a communal reaction to our deeply binary thinking around gender. The OED dates its use first to the year 2000. 　　The OED has also added new “initialisms.” To its existing list， which included IMF （International Monetary Fund） and IDB （illicit3） diamond buyer）， it has added ICYMI （in case you missed it）， IRL （in real life）， IDK （I don’t know）， and FFS （look that one up if you don’t know it already！） 　　Many of the new entries are made by combining words. Some of these fit the definition of “compound words，” that is， words formed by joining two together， such as “air-punching，” “bare-knuckle” and “self-identity.” Others are just two words put side-by-side， such as “power couple，” “hockey mum4），” “test drive” and “star sign.” 　　Clearly some of these terms―“budgie smugglers” for instance―have been around for some time. The OED dates this term to 1998. The source is The Games， the Australian mockumentary5） television series about the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. 　　T